Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I have been watching The Bachelorette since the pandemic lockdown. There wasn’t much else to do at the time, so please don’t judge me too harshly, (as I do myself!)  And then I started watching The Bachelor the next season. (But I held off on Bachelor in Paradise until 2023, when a very intelligent and successful show biz executive heavily suggested it to me, and Mr. X and I didn’t want to disappoint him.)

Taylor Paul, looking the best she possibly can, in an image from the show that we’re not going to get to see.

So I feel qualified to weigh-in on the inane situation that ABC finds itself in now with the newest creepy Bachelorette, whose fully-shot season they just had to cancel!

Taylor Paul was a stupid choice anyway. First of all, she wasn’t even a part of the franchise to begin with, as all other Bachelorettes have been. On top of that, she’s not even remotely attractive. At all. She looks like a washed-up old drugged-out harlot. As soon as we saw the (very many) promos for the upcoming rendition, Mr. X and I had already decided to not waste any time watching this season of the show.

If you don’t know this latest show biz gossip, here’s the tea: For some unknown reason, instead of booking one of the popular rejects from the former season of The Bachelor to be the new Bachelorette this season, the show hired this skank from Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives. I had never even heard of that show until this last season of Dancing With the Stars, when ABC took two of those “wives” to compete on the dance floor. So it must be popular among the idiots who watch reality TV. And that may be why The Bachelorette went against their own unwritten rules, and chose a divorced mother-of-three, (with two different men,) to vie for love with strange men. Who could have seen a debacle coming???

The answer is everyone, of course. But not like this. The situation is worse than any of us could have imagined.

Taylor Paul’s ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen.

So, after this entire season was already filmed, and about to start airing on March 22th, (with at least a month of seemingly non-stop promos!,) a popular website published a tape of Taylor attacking her serious ex-boyfriend, (and baby daddy,) Dakota Mortensen in 2023. She even threw heavy metal chairs at him! Even worse, her five-year-old daughter was in the room! And the kid got hit in the head by one of those objects!!! What is wrong with that woman???

She got arrested for alleged domestic violence back then, and was charged with misdemeanor assault, criminal mischief, and commission of domestic violence in the presence of a child. OMG, am I right? (In August 2023, she pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree aggravated assault, and was placed on probation for the next three years. The other charges were dismissed. But my research shows that the authorities are considering even more charges against Taylor Paul, stemming from second and third incidents!)

After that three-year-old video of the attack came to life on this March 19th, her upcoming season of The Bachelorette was cancelled, just three days before its premiere!!! A Disney Entertainment Television issued a statement announcing the cancellation, explaining, “In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of The Bachelorette at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family.” What family???

Taylor Paul, looking as confused as the rest of us are as to why she was ever chosen to be this season’s The Bachelorette!

So now the big question is: Why didn’t the show vet this stranger??? I always thought that everyone who applies to be on the show is investigated, so how did the ABC powers-that-be miss this major situation??? TMZ seems to have had no trouble uncovering the info and video, so why did ABC’s high-powered detectives not get the memo??? Or actually, why didn’t whatever channel Secret Lives Of Mormon Wives is on catch it, especially because that series didn’t begin airing until late 2024? And she and Mortensen weren’t married, so she wasn’t even a “wife!”

No matter who is to blame for that oversight, let’s all thank them for the reprieve we’re all getting from these low-life shows. Maybe the cancellation will be just what we The Bachelor franchise possibly-addicts need to break free! And let’s just hope that Taylor does not show up on the next Dancing With the Stars!

As half of a longtime couple myself, (and a former celebrity one at that,) I’m always amazed that most other duos in the biz don’t last that long.

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster.

On top of that, I’m always happy when good people get together. It’s especially interesting when the twosome is famous, and even moreso when they’re older, which means that people think that perhaps their time has passed.

So I’ve been thrilled about one super-talented couple for several months now, and over the moon about the more recent one.  Here’s my breakdown of them both:

LIAM NEESON AND PAMELA ANDERSON

What a perfect pair! Seeing them so happy together actually made me cry a few times last week.

I adore that subtle little hand-hold of Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson.

Liam and I had a mutual friend back in the day, (I lost touch with her, so I don’t know if he did, as well,) and she told me that he’s really great and down to earth. My heart has been broken for him ever since his beloved wife, Natasha Richardson, shockingly died in 2009 after hitting her head in a skiing accident. She unfortunately didn’t take care of it right away because she didn’t realize just how serious the injury was. And then she passed away because of it two days later. (I have a feeling that all the publicity about the tragedy may have saved more than a few lives; it made people aware that they should never ignore any hit to the head, no matter how insignificant it seems at the time.)

So, to see Liam be so happy again finally is making my heart sing.

Pam and Liam, who are also the couple at the top of this gush.

And, although I don’t know Pamela Anderson personally, and have seen her act just once in her movie last year, The Last Showgirl, she always seems so sweet in interviews. I think she’s a tad nutty to have stopped wearing make-up in the past year, but that’s another topic for another day. (Mr. X just reminded me that we were at a party with her way back in the day, at the home of Renee Taylor and Joe Bologna. He said that when Pam walked in the door, he thought she was a “knockout!” And no—that did not make me the least bit jealous, [even though I have to remind him who I am every day since the beginning]—I knew I was the funniest, which is more important to us.)

Right now, I’m just happy for those two nice people to have found happiness with each other. Their romance is my favorite story of the year!

HUGH JACKMAN AND SUTTON FOSTER

Sutton Foster and Hugh Jackman in one of the happiest unposed pix ever!

For a while, after the public realized that these two were an item late last year, they caught a lot of flack because it appeared that Hugh had left his long-term wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, for Sutton. Which he most likely did. Can anyone blame him??? (Hugh claims that’s not the true story. He says that he and Deborra just grew apart and separated, and then he and his longtime friend, Sutton, got together way after his split. Yeah, ri-ight. Whatever you say, Hugh.)

I don’t get how the timeline of his relationships are anybody’s business…but mine!  (Because he’s my one celebrity crush these days.) But I could not be happier for them.

And what a perfect couple Hugh and Sutton are! They’re the two most talented people Broadway has ever seen. Both are downright charming, sing and dance to perfection, are very funny actors, and have that extra something for which audiences clamor. I have had the great fortune to see them both perform live—Hugh twice on Broadway, both times in The Boy from Oz, (from excellent seats, by the way,) and Sutton three times—here in LA in the US Premiere of The Drowsy Chaperone, the same show later on Broadway, and then this past December in Once Upon a Mattress here in LA again. I only wish I had seen them in The Music Man, during which it appears they fell in love. That must have been something to witness, for sure.

Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster in The Music Man on Broadway.

I wish them every happiness, (which every photo of them demonstrates is already taking place,) and hope for myself that I get to see them perform together in something soon. (And that he’ll do his magical rope-jumping routine in whatever show it is!)

Okay, my mouth is literally watering to weigh-in on this one!  Having actually known and spent time with the diva herself back in the day, (and just published a new video which I can reveal now is, indeed, about Patti, even though I don’t name her in the tale, and which you can watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1DWrs5Om_U,) I have many thoughts on both ends of this recent argument.

Karen Salkin and Patti LuPone in a scene from Life Goes On.

Yes, Patti LuPone is basically a bi-atch, but an uber-talented one. I’m pretty sure that she never cares about being Miss Congeniality—she is just very confident, correctly, that her extreme talent speaks for itself.

But here’s what’s going on with her now, which is happening right before the all-important Tony Awards, to boot:

It all started when Patti was recently starring in a play on Broadway with Mia Farrow, and their theatre shared a wall with the building that houses the Alicia Keys musical, Hell’s Kitchen. And that show’s sound cues were coming through the wall. So, following the advice from her stage manager, Patti asked a higher-up in that other theatre’s producers group to help them resolve the issue, (a move with which I totally agree, by the way.) Any normal person would be upset with that situation, but especially a serious actress.

The great Patti LuPone.

Patti is one hundred percent correct about noise from a loud musical bleeding onto her stage! It has annoyed me as simply an audience member, so I can’t imagine how disruptive it is to people who are trying to act! As a matter of fact, I experienced a similar situation when I was reviewing a play just a few years ago, and this is what I wrote in my critique: “But the douchebag restaurant next door, Tar and Roses, feels that it’s necessary to blast music at night, no matter how much that affects the goings-on in the theatre. So that muffled pounding noise goes on during the entire second act! Those creeps couldn’t wait an hour to do that?! Like they’re going to lose any business because of it. (And their food sucks, too.)” So anyone from that show’s audience can certainly understand Patti’s plight.

During that recent run of her Broadway play, Patti said the musical next door was “too loud,” referencing her own artistic experience with how it affected the production she was in at the time. And when the issue was fixed, she sent flowers to the Hell’s Kitchen’s sound and stage management team to thank them for their help, which was very classy of her. That should have been the end of the conflict. It should have been my favorite saying—dot, dash, end of story.

But one of the stars of Hell’s Kitchen, Kecia Lewis, kicked-up a fuss on social media, deeming LuPone’s asking for that sound adjustment and calling the musical “too loud” to be “bullying,” “offensive,” “racially microaggressive,” “rude,” and “rooted in privilege.” Wow.

Karen Salkin and Patti LuPone sharing a laugh in another scene from Life Goes On.

So, before I continue, I have to explain my own personal experience with Patti LuPone, so you see from whence my perspective in coming. She and Mr. X worked closely together on a TV series back in the day, and adored each other. (So at least she has excellent taste.) I even appeared on an episode of that show with her once. Because of those connections, we were at several parties together over the years. And while I have always totally admired her talent, I never really liked her, the feeling of which I’m sure was mutual.

BUT…nothing she said about that loud music situation has anything to do with race or privilege!!! It was all about work. Period. It’s obnoxious of Kecia Lewis to try to spin Patti’s words like that! And I promise you, my sticking-up for Ms. LuPone like this is really saying something. Personal feelings aside, I believe in truth, honesty, and fairness, so I have to call it like I see it. And in this case, Kecia Lewis definitely outmatched Patti LuPone in bitchiness. If there was any racism involved, it was on the part of Kecia towards Patti to try to accuse her of it!!!

And knowing Patti so well, Mr. X and I had hearty laughs when we read that in a recent interview with The New Yorker, she said that Lewis “doesn’t know what the f— she’s talking about,” and then added, (in reference to how few Broadway productions Lewis has been in,) “Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch!” We, of course, know that you really cannot say stuff like that in public, but we laughed because it’s sooo Patti.

Audra McDonald as Mama Rose in Gypsy.

Now this is where the entire nasty episode blew-up: Subsequent to the Lewis post, Patti’s Broadway frienemesis, (a word I coined years ago for my sixth grade best friend and nemesis, Mindy Fain,) Audra McDonald, “liked” the mean-about-Patti post, causing Patti to point-out in her interview with the New Yorker that Audra is “not a friend,” due to a rift a long time ago. On a morning TV show shortly after that story came-out, Audra confirmed that they haven’t seen each other in almost a dozen years. So, to my mind, it’s no harm, no foul. Right?

However, here’s another big BUT: Audra is up for a Tony this weekend for playing Mama Rose in the revival of Gypsy, a role for which Patti deservedly won a Tony in 2008. So there’s that tantalizing tidbit. And in that same New Yorker interview, Patti appeared to be rooting for Nicole Scherzinger, who is also nominated in the same category, for one of Patti’s own former roles, as the star of Sunset Blvd. It’s all very dramatic. And very old-black-and-white-movie-esque of Broadway! [Note: I hate repeating people’s names so many times, but it makes the stories clearer than just saying “she” and “her” over and over!]

The penultimate kicker to all of this is that over five hundred people in the Broadway community have signed an open letter to Patti, criticizing her for her comments in the New Yorker article. That’s just creepy of them all. Jealous much?

Patti LuPones’ full apology statement.

So, to try to get this fiasco behind her, Patti issued a public apology, saying in part, “I made a mistake, I take full responsibility for it, and I am committed to making this right. Our entire theatre community deserves better.” You just know that someone behind the scenes forced her into doing that. I actually feel bad for her over it—I know she was choking on the statement. She was just speaking her mind to begin with, which she obviously should not have, but even I feel that what she said was more amusing than mean. But oh well. Let’s hope the sad incident is all over, and not her career! That would really be a shame.

To wrap it all up, I believe that this whole debacle will propel Audra to yet another Tony win this Sunday, which will infuriate Patti. Even though she’s not nominated for anything this year, she already has three Tonys to Audra’s astonishing six, so this would be the latter’s seventh, which Patti would take as a personal loss. And she loathes losing.

And I should know. Because I actually beat her at something. It wasn’t an acting award, but I consider it to be my Tony! Here’s the link again to my latest YouTube video about that fun tale: www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1DWrs5Om_U. I doubt you’ll be surprised by any of it.

With the odd announcement last week that seventy-three-year-old football Coach Bill Belichick had just gotten engaged to his much, much, much younger girlfriend, twenty-four-year-old Jordon Hudson, (they have a forty-nine year age difference, to be exact,) I figured that it’s finally time for me to weigh-in on that crazy situation. And what I have to ultimately say just might surprise you, at least a bit.

Of course, as just about everyone does, I’m mostly disgusted by what I’ve seen of Bill and Jordon’s connection. I had read about her and their weird entanglement, but had no thoughts. At first.

Jordon Hudson’s intense scrutiny of Bill’s CBS interview.

But then I saw her controlling behavior on that CBS morning show.  If you’ve been living under a rock, or are just immune to celebrity shenanigans at this point, what happened is that Belichick was taping his appearance on CBS Sunday Morning to discuss his new book, which is mainly about his football career. The host asked him about his new relationship, (which Bill has admitted they’re in,) and then asked “How did you guys meet?” The answer, on a plane four years ago, when she was in college, is something that Jordon has openly posted everywhere, so it wasn’t exactly investigative reporting of the interviewer to pose that query. But, from her perch off to the side, Jordon called-out, “We’re not talking about this.” How strange. And annoying. And a waste of my time because it sent me digging to see if perhaps they had actually really met when she was underage! Or at a brothel she was perhaps working at. Or some other subterfuge. But, no, it appears the plane seats are the true answer, so why did she butt in to the interview? (Perhaps it was because Bill and his former long-time girlfriend broke up just two years ago, and that supposed meeting with Jordon took place four years ago, which is how long she says they’ve been together!) It would have worked into her publicity-for-herself scheme to get him talking about their love affair in that TV interview!!! So I can’t quite figure-out her angle in that interview, other than that maybe she’s trying to get PR jobs, and wanted to show how tough she can be in that world.

Jordon Hudson in the middle of that infamous ad, after pushing herself into it.

Perhaps even worse than that debacle was this one: As Mr. X and I were watching the Super Bowl in February, and we saw that Dunkin’ Donuts commercial with all famous guys and one unknown woman, I asked him who she is. Of course, he had no idea, either, and we both thought it was odd to have one chick, and a non-famous one at that, in there. It was like a “which one doesn’t belong” puzzle. And then, just recently, when all the nonsense came out about this weird coupling, it turned-out that the man is Bill’s girlfriend, (who we now know to be Jordon,) who had accompanied him to the shoot, and then insisted that she be in it, too! She must have threatened to pull him if they didn’t also put her in it, or something to that effect. (I only wish that I had thought to do that for myself with all of Mr. X’s movies and TV shows! Although he, nor any other normal significant other, would never have allowed it.)

So, after those couple of instances, it does seem to me, as it does to his children, friends, and associates, that the girl is using him. And that he’s just a silly old man who is being taken advantage of. And that they worry that she may have already had him sign over everything he owns to her! And they’re also worried about his will. (But he just had a serious girlfriend of sixteen years, so wouldn’t she have inherited a lot of it if they had stayed together?)

I’m still totally against Jordon, (whose parents obviously didn’t know how to spell “Jordan,”) but after I recently read about her family and upbringing, I also have a bit of a different view about her.

Jordon Hudson and her parents, (the mother is significantly older than the father, by the way,) in a bedroom when she was a youngster.

She grew-up poverty-stricken in a small fishing town in Maine. So when she got old enough to figure-out her life going forward, it looks like she vowed to do everything she can to break out of that situation. And, as a pretty, (and physically flexible,) girl, she had options.

She tried competing in cheerleading and pageants, (she still does the latter, even as late as a couple of weeks ago!,) and then she had the good fortune to sit next to the very rich, very successful, but also very much older, former coach of the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, on a plane. (Although that meeting is often disputed. How did a poor college girl afford first class, or, conversely, why would Belichick be sitting in coach?)

And I’m assuming that he found her to be pretty and smart and perhaps even charming, and they kept in touch. And I picture that he asked to kiss her one night, and it went from there.

It’s been reported that she has amassed a multi-million-dollar real estate portfolio since they’ve been together; I’m pretty sure that he gave her advice on how to do that, and probably even “lent” her the capital for her endeavors. (If you’re curious how that all came about, here’s an article I found on the topic: www.yahoo.com/entertainment/articles/bill-belichick-girlfriend-jordon-hudson-215614326.html.)

And she’s clearly had a tiny bit of facial surgery, so perhaps he bankrolled that, as well. I actually think she looked much cuter before, when she was young, innocent, and fresh-faced. Now she looks like she’s in her forties! Still pretty, but much different with a few natural-looking tweaks.

The purported first meeting of Bill Belichick and his girlfriend Jordon Hudson.

But you know what? I can’t believe I’m even saying this, but…let them have their happiness! He gets to have a good-looking chick on his arm, (and have sex with her,) and she gets the monied life she’s been seeking since she was a tot. They’re not hurting anyone except for perhaps his heirs, who are worried about their inheritance, as they should be, actually. While it is possible that she really does love him, we all hope he gets a pre-nup, if he even has any money left by the time they get married!!!

I’m pretty sure that she would not have even talked to him if he wasn’t rich, which just may be why she was sitting in *first class to begin with. She appears to be a user, but he seems happy to be used like that. Their story is reminiscent of how that Markle woman set-out to bag Prince Harry. And I personally know one other woman who read that book about how to get rich men, and it worked for her; she got everything she wanted, and then left him. So there are people like that, of course. *[Note: No one actually seems to know the real story of where they were when they met. She would not have had the finances at the time to sit in first class, and there’s no way that Bill Belichick would have been sitting anywhere else! That’s why many are suspicious of their “meeting.”]

I do understand the whole story a bit because way back in the day, and over a few years, I had two older gent semi-suitors. They were only suitors, not boyfriends, and only semi at that, because I’ve always had a boyfriend, since I was fifteen. So these two gents were people I’d hang-out with, who would take me to dinner and parties and things like that, and who made their feelings for me known, but that was it. And I hung-out with them mainly when my boyfriend was working out of town for a few months, so my schedule allowed me to spend time with other people. But always with my bae’s knowledge of who my friends were, of course.

But had I been single at those times, I honestly could have possibly wound-up with one of the older men being my boyfriend. They were both very successful, wealthy, charming, and handsome, and adored me. And took me to great restaurants and show biz parties, and even offered to buy me things and take me to Paris, no strings attached! So what wasn’t to like? Actually, when I was even younger than that, (think late teen-ager to very early twenties,) I used to be attracted to older men, I think because I never got along with my father, so there’s that. But kissing someone so elderly senior would most likely have been a different story for me. I don’t know if I could have done that, as Jordon Hudson apparently can.

Although not firsthand, I also understand her desperation to not be poor anymore. I’ve had two friends who have done everything possible to escape their poverty-stricken upbringings. One even named her child “Sterling,” just to sound monied!

But they do look in love in this pic, which I think may be from her Instagram.

And, of course, there are some other famous May-December romances that appear to be honest ones, with all of the couples I’m about to mention staying together for decades and producing much happiness. The marriage of the late Tony Bennett and his wife Susan, who were a mere forty years apart, comes to mind. [Note: Right after I wrote that sentence, I, out of the blue, read that his daughters were not happy with their union!]  And what about the both-recently-deceased Gene Hackman and his thirty-one-years younger wife? Here are some more: Dick Van Dyke and his wife, Arlene Silver, (forty-six-year gap); Mick Jagger and his ballerina girlfriend and baby mama, Melanie Hamrick, (forty-three-year gap); Robert Duvall and his wife, Luciana, (forty-one-year gap); Dennis Quaid and his wife, Laura, (thirty-nine-year gap); Patrick Stewart and his wife, Sunny, (thirty-eight-year gap); Robert De Niro and his girlfriend and baby mama, Tiffany Chen, (thirty-five-year gap); Woody Allen and his wife, Soon-Yi, (thirty-four-year gap); David Foster and Katharine McPhee, (thirty-four-year gap); Richard Gere and his wife Alejandra, (thirty-three-year gap); Jeff Goldblum and his wife, Emilie, (thirty-one-year gap.) The list goes on and on.

But this one takes the cake! Their forty-nine-year age gap makes Bill actually more like a grandfather to Jordon than a father! On that tip, there was also the long-ago marriage of Anna Nicole Smith and her on-the-verge-of-being-a-nonagenarian new hubby, which, with their sixty-three-year age gap, most people assumed was for his money—which it did appear to be—so I can understand the skepticism about Jordon Hudson. But, again, just let these old men have fun! If that’s what their hard-won big bucks have reaped for them, so be it.

Still, I think it’s somewhat of a dangerous situation for Belichick. His new job, as the football coach at University of North Carolina, is already in jeopardy because the powers-that-be over there want his paramour to stay out of it. Everyone was upset when she recently strolled onto the field during a practice to fix his microphone, (which football personnel wear to communicate with their teams.) As obnoxious as that was, wouldn’t we all love to have someone look-out for us like that? (For an example, once, when I was one of the hosts for a national telethon, but in my own section where the audience could feel close to me, I had my two best friends right there with me. When I got home, Mr. X asked why my bangs were so awful, making me look horrible. When I saw the recording, I asked my friends why they didn’t let me know when I was off-camera between my duties! They said they knew I looked bad, but didn’t want to bother me. I could have used someone like Hudson looking-out for me in that instance!)

Now, as a distraction from our own problems, and all the horribleness in the world right now, we’ll all be watching to see how this Belichick-Hudson saga continues. My money is on marriage for them, and then her own reality show, (ala Markle or Hilaria Baldwin,) and then an affair for her with a much younger man. But we’ll all see, won’t we? If I believed in betting, I’d sure take wagers on my theory right about now.

I’ve needed almost a week to process what I witnessed on the finale of this latest season of The Bachelorette. (Yes, I am still embarrassed that I watch this basic game-show-for-love, but I started during the pandemic and can’t stop myself now.)

Jenn Tran.

As early as episode two, I dubbed this the “Open Wound” season of the show because that’s basically what everyone involved on-screen is! I’ve never heard so many tales of abandonment, both familial and in love, in my life! (Well, not since I gave up the one soap opera I watched decades ago.)

The very first thing I want to make crystal clear about the “star” of this year’s rendition of the stupid show, Jenn Tran, is that any guy would be lucky to have this girl!!! First of all, she’s gorgeous. Second of all, she doesn’t even act like it, which is very commendable. There are so many girls out there who are either not good-looking or are plastic-surgeries-out, who act like they’re the queen of the may, but Jenn doesn’t even flaunt her gorgeous tresses, which we’d all be lucky to rock. (Yes, even yours truly, whose own luxurious locks I’m always grateful for! But Jenn’s are a million times better.)

She’s also adorable. And smart, which is demonstrated by her sentiments, vocabulary, sentence structure, and the fact that she’s in school to become a physician assistant, which is just one step below doctor. On top of all of that, she’s an athlete!!! And she’s uber-pleasant. Most importantly, she was willing to find love with that pack of goons.

Grant Ellis–the next Bachelor.

That poor girl. The casting people gave her the creepiest choices. *Grant Ellis is the only one I would even consider, both in my younger days and now, if I had to choose one of them. *(And I guess I’m not the only one who feels that way—Grant is the next Bachelor!)

So in case you missed the ending, (or if you’re smart enough to not watch the show at all,) Jenn chose Devin, the goofiest of the group, to get engaged to. He’s not good-looking at all, is a bit of a chubster with a hairy chest, has odd yellow-ish teeth with lots of visible gums, and all the other guys hated him, which is usually a clue to the dick-iness of a male. I expected him to be gone the very first week, so I was sure that the producers were making Jenn keep him around, just for the drama he was causing with the other men. (I also am positive that they made her keep Thomas, the one Asian guy, because they were idiots who neglected to cast more than one Asian male when the lead girl is Vietnamese! Is there not even one person with a brain who works on that show???)

When Jenn chose Devin to get engaged to at the end, (which I feel she did because she was attracted to how in love with her he was, and how protected he made her feel, after her father had basically abandoned her early in life,) I could not imagine how she was going to be able to have sex with him. I would throw-up if I even had to kiss him! But to each her own.

Furious Jenn on After The Final Rose.

Then, as the After The Final Rose wrap-up show was going along last week, the show’s host, Jesse Palmer, kept alluding to that something odd was up with the ending. And his face and those of some of the cast members who were in that audience, along with the expressions on the faces of her mother and brother, made it look like something tragic was coming. So, before the big proposal, (which had occurred two months before in real life,) they stopped the reveal and had Jenn come out on the stage live to tell us what has happened since it was taped. And she was seriously crying. With actual sobs. (Sidebar—Has anyone on that show ever thought of having a box of tissues handy??? Just sayin’. They need my mother there to make sure that happens next time!)

Jenn was soooo distraught that I literally thought that Devin had died. (It actually might have been less sad if he had, bite my tongue.) It turned-out that he had broken up with her! By phone! With no explanation. And then followed (on social media) one of the weirdest Bachelorettes ever, and then went out clubbing with one of his love rivals, Jeremy, whose creepy family had put a kibosh on his relationship with Jenn when he was in the Final Four.

Poor Jenn was in soooo much emotional pain on the finale. And Devin is an idiot because he’ll never get anyone even close to her. Has he never looked in a mirror? He had tricked even my suspicious self—I had not figured him as one of the people who go on that show to find fame rather than love. I figured he’s just a schlub whom the producers accepted to show that they’re diverse-friendly, just like they also had the first big fat guy ever in this cast.

Creepy Devin.

After Jenn told us the very sad story of her broken engagement, Devin came out for the two to confront each other for the first time since he had broken up with her a month ago.

Host Jesse Palmer should have definitely asked Devin what changed for him to make him break up with her, but he inexplicably neglected to do so. What a missed opportunity. Now we viewers, who have invested so much time into each season, will never know what really happened. (My theory is that perhaps desperate-for-love-from-a-male Jenn proved too needy for him.) No matter what Devin’s reason was, there are a zillion better ways for him to have gone about it. He had me convinced that he was madly in love with her, so what kind of number did he do on Jenn?

Actually, she should have broken-up with him when she saw that butt-ugly engagement ring he chose for her! Even Mr. X was amazed that it was even a choice! And I had jokingly said, “Yeah, when Jenn sees that ring, she’s going to not accept his proposal!” (By the way, when they kept previewing that this ending had never been done before, and the coming attractions showed Jenn telling one of the guys—who was tall, so I knew it was Devin—that she was not going to accept his proposal, I knew right away that she was going to propose to him! So that part was not the big surprise they expected it to be.)

The unattractive engagement ring Devin chose for Jenn.

For further clarification on Devin, I think that he’s just a liar, in general, and not just about his feelings for Jenn. So this is what I feel one of his big lies is: On a “date” earlier in the season, Devin matched Jenn’s sad tale of being abandoned by her father, to let her know that he was in the same boat in the paternity arena. Of course, that made her feel for him, and, ignoring his nerdiness, brought him closer to her. But then, when he made it to “Hometowns,” (which is when the Bachelorette visits the families of her last quartet of guys,) lo and behold, who was at Devin’s mom’s house but…his father! And Devin and his dad were all friendly, hugging and smiling and acting like they’re best buddies. I knew something wasn’t right as soon as I saw that. I just wish that Jenn had, as well. And now Devin is basically enacting revenge of the nerd.

I wish I was this poor girl’s friend so I could break down just how great she is to her. And I rarely even like any of the morons on this series! It was honestly hurting my soul to see how genuinely miserable she was on the finale. I also wish she would just marry that adorable ex-boyfriend of hers, Matt, who showed-up in New Zealand, (with the approval of the show’s producers) to try to win her back. His looks put the rest of the cast to shame, for one, and he also seemed sincere in wanting to still be with Jenn. So I think they should get back together.

But, happily, now she’ll be competing on Dancing With The Stars starting next week, (which I’ll discuss in a few days,) so perhaps that will bring her some love luck. (She’s partnered with divorced Sasha Farber, who I’m confident will love her—if he’s finally over his ex-wife and fellow dancer, Emma Slater, yet— and they both desperately want children right away, so I’m saying there’s a chance.)

Sam M., who proved himself to be a real douche even without ever showing these creepy tattoos!

On a side note, Mr. X and I detest that the contestants say, “Can I steal her?,” when they want to have some time chatting with the lead. We also hate that they always say that they’re “trying to get there,” meaning trying to be in love with so-and-so. Why do you have to “try???” There are almost eight billion people in the world! You don’t have to try to love just one of them, especially on what Mr. X always refers to as “a game show!”

I have to end with one thing off the topic of the outcome of this season, which annoyed me no end. If contestant Sam M., (who was the first frontrunner of the suitors because of their “physical chemistry,” meaning Jenn just wanted to make-out with him all day,) said this one more time, “I’m just keeping the main thing the main thing,” I would have thrown-up.

Which is exactly what I’m sure I’ll do if I subject myself to The Golden Bachelorette that also begins next week! I’ll just try to wait to get my franchise fix until next summer’s Bachelor in Paradise. May the Gods have pity on me for watching any of this nonsense to begin with!

Oprah Winfrey is the third, and latest, liar to make me see red this month! She has not only exposed herself for not telling the truth, but she’s harming others with this compound whopper!

What Oprah Winfrey looked like originally.

This creepy woman is so desperate to be attractive. To that end, she lies all the time. But this new one, about her not using, and then admittedly using, an unnamed weight loss drug is Oprah Winfrey’s biggest fabrication yet. And it’s a danger to the nincompoops who are still in the “cult of Oprah.”

So I’m here to break-down for you exactly the harm she’s causing. Sadly for me, I’ve recently been diagnosed with Type II diabetes, which means that I’ve become sort-of an expert on this class of drugs she’s lying about. So her creepy fictions chap my hide even more than her usual ones. Because of my own real health issues, I’ve looked into all the diabetes drugs. Quite immorally, many people are using them for weight loss, thus creating a shortage for the patients who really need them! (I’m taking the lowest dose of one to control my diabetes, and when my doctor first ordered it a couple of months ago, the big pharmacy I go to told me they don’t know if they can even get it for me because so many people in Los Angeles are using it for weight loss instead of for diabetes. How horrible of those selfish people.)

And none of the medications can be taken the way that lying Oprah says! You can’t just take them before you’re going to have a big meal, so that you gain less weight than you would otherwise!!! That is soooo dangerous to lie about that usage to the public.

She recently told People, “I now use [the weight loss drug] as I feel I need it, as a tool to manage not yo-yoing.” She said that she took the medication before Thanksgiving “because I knew I was going to have two solid weeks of eating. Instead of gaining eight pounds like I did last year, I gained half a pound.” I caution again—that is soooo not how you take these drugs!!!

On top of endangering  people who may listen to her, just whom does she think she’s kidding??? She must feel that the people who actually still pay attention to her are idiots. Does she not know that some of them are diabetics themselves??? [Note: A couple of the new-ish drugs are approved for weight loss for people with obesity, but then Oprah would have to admit that she’s obese! And also admit that she does not use it sporadically.]

And she’s even lied about lying! Here’s the story of her conflicting weight loss lies: She showed up at some event recently looking like she weighed much less than her usual two-hundred-ish-pound self.  I guess she had not been in the public eye for a while because many outlets wrote about her “shocking” forty pound weight loss. (And trust me—it takes many months of using one of these drugs very seriously, in a major dose, to lose that amount! It’s taken me over three months to lose just five pounds on one. So Oprah was probably also wearing industrial strength Spanx under her outfit when she displayed her new weight loss!!!)

Everyone knew she did it with drugs, as have so many people in show business, most of whom have admitted it, either because they believe in honesty or because they know that the public knows what’s up. Yet, Oprah stupidly denied it! She declared she would never use the drugs because that would be the “easy way out’.

Oprah Winfrey after taking the weight loss drugs for what must be a long while. But she’s still insecurely hunched over.

Then she must have known that she was about to be outed because, just two days later, she all of a sudden admitted that she’s been taking a weight loss drug. But, to remind you, she compounded her lies by saying that she takes it only every now and then, just to not gain a lot of weight around the holidays!!! She’s pathetic.

I stress to everybody—you cannot take any of those drugs in that fashion! And I have been cautioned several times—by doctors and pharmacists—that you can’t just stop using it when you feel like it. I’ve actually been sick every day since I began, (in several ways, including being dizzy and nauseous, and having awful leg pain,) and have been begging to stop it now that it’s gotten my diabetes under control, but they’ve all told me that we would have to wean me off it very carefully and slowly. I repeat—you absolutely cannot take it the way that Oprah lied and said she did! Both shots and pills absolutely cannot be taken before a big meal to keep you from pigging out!!!

And just to let you know—when you do actually get off this class of meds, you supposedly gain it all back, sometimes double, so there’s no way that Oprah takes it just occasionally.

And she’s doing all this while she’s supposed to be an “ambassador” for Weight Watchers!!! How rotten and disloyal is she?! Weight Watchers should sue her lying ass. (But she’s most likely been lying all along about using their program, as well!)

By the way—I’m not the only one who thinks all this ill of Oprah. People on message boards, including many who admit that they’re “former fans,” are disgusted with her. One poster wrote, “Every time Winfrey opens her mouth, out comes another lie!,” to which others all said things like, “Spot on!” And, “Agree 100%!”

I don’t know why any of us are surprised, though. Oprah Winfrey has always lied about, and been obsessed with, her weight. And she has always declared that whatever size she is at the time is the right way to be. Do you remember that stupidity with the animal fat that she did on her former TV show all those years ago? She had lost weight, so she brought out a toy wagon filled with a plastic bag of the same amount of animal fat as what she had lost, to show us how nauseating it is! And then, within a few months, it was all back on her body, and then she said that was the healthy way to be! At one point, she even declared, “Fat is fabulous!”

Oprah Winfrey and her bag of animal fat. Ewwww.

Just three months ago, she was quoted as saying, “Shouldn’t we all just be more accepting of whatever body you choose to be in?”

Let’s face it—Oprah is awful-looking either way. She’ll never be good-looking, no matter how much money she has, (or facial surgery. But that’s yet another topic for her to lie about.) She’s always wanted to be pretty; being uber-rich and successful has never been enough for her. I think she’s basically a miserable person.

So, even if you’re someone who wants to lose yourself, please don’t believe a word Oprah Winfrey says on this topic. Speak to doctors, maybe even several of them, and then do what is right for you. Not everyone needs to be a skinny minnie, unless it’s for real, not pretend, health issues.

After seeing red last week due to all the lies told by Gerry Turner, the “Golden Bachelor,” (if you missed my in-depth article about it on Monday, here’s the link: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/juicy-gossipkarens-rantstelevision–you won’t be sorry you read it,) I thought I could finally calm down. But then the creepiest of creeps, Felicity Huffman, re-surfaced  a day or two later, about four years after being incarcerated for knowingly breaking the law by paying someone to take her daughter’s SAT for the (according to her mother’s actions) not-too-bright girl.

Besides that what she did is illegal, (and she knew that it was going in!,) Huffman is now humiliating her daughter by letting us all know her offspring was too dumb to get into a good college on her own!

Convict Felicity Huffman in prison, where she should still be!

And Huffman’s lying excuse is that she would have been a “bad mother” if she hadn’t cheated for the girl! How does this prevaricator and excuse-maker-supreme think that even the most gullible among us would believe that for even one second??? I think we all need Katie Couric to interview this liar, after torturing the lying bachelor man the other day!

She was actually a bad mother for trying to teach her daughter that cheating and criminal activity is better than good old fashion work. (Hopefully, the girl learned how incorrect that is.) The felon should have used her beaucoup bucks to get the girl a tutor in the first place. And if she still couldn’t do well enough on the SAT, she could have gone to a junior college, as so many people do! But this low-life Huffman thought that she and her family are above all that, and that cheating was the way to go. How morally repulsive of her.

So now, after four years, she’s all of a sudden doing television interviews, to try to make herself seem nice. But she’s not even apologizing! At all. She’s just rationalizing. (To only herself, really, because everyone else knows that Felicity Huffman is just an unrepentant cheater who is one hundred percent aware of just how wrong what she did is! If she really does not understand the magnitude of what she did, she’s the one who needs a tutor! A life one!)

And she brings along a woman who runs a charity for previously incarcerated women to declare that Huffman is good because she worked with them…when she was court-ordered to do so!!!

She’s still helping them, but anyone with an eye can see that she’s just doing that to attempt to look good. To that end, she even took part in the organization’s fundraiser the other night. And she began her speech with, “I’m a felon,” with a smile, to pander to her fellow jailbirds in the crowd. She thinks that’s the same as a “mea culpa,” which it definitely is not. I almost vomited when I saw that bit on the news.

Felicity Huffman, with her husband, going to her trial.

Felicity Huffman is actually not the least bit contrite about her felony; she’s just trying to get the public on her side now. I’m venturing a guess that it’s because, after lying low out of the public eye for these few years, (which she was most likely advised to do by her crisis management team,) she’s hoping to be hired as an actress again.

So my fervent plea to everyone in power in show business is: please do not ever hire this disgusting felon! No normal person ever wants to see her again. There are a zillion other actresses in the world, most better than Huffman, and just about all of them more attractive than that miskite is!

I seriously hope this is the last we ever hear of her odious, disturbing family.

To back-up that assessment I just made, here’s my personal story about her even-more-nauseating husband, William H. Macy:

William H. Macy’s disgusting hair. Photo by Karen Salkin.

About three weeks before Huffman went to prison in 2019, my friend, Marc, and I sat directly behind Macy and a young blonde woman at a theatre opening night. (I knew it was him by his incredibly greasy vomititious hair.) All of a sudden, the young woman put her hands around his head and started lovingly  undulating her fingers through his hair. Marc and I almost threw up, but our eyes were riveted on them, assuming he was having an affair while his wife was getting ready for the pokey.

Then the two of them began fondling each other’s hands, just as lovers do. The play we were there to see was not very good, so we just kept watching the carryings-on in the row in front of us. We felt like we were watching a peep show! And it lasted just about the entire two hours!

William H. Macy with his daughter he’d been handsy with all night. Photo by Karen Salkin.

I was pretty surprised that a young girl like that would be so into an unattractive, skeezy, creepy old man. When the lights came on at the end, and we were all leaving, I took a couple of surreptitious photos of her. And then Marc recognized her and told me that she’s Macy’s…daughter!!! Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! As if I wasn’t nauseated enough before, I almost threw-up right then and there. [Note: We did confirm that she is his daughter.]

So, disgustingness runs in that family. If John Phillips (of the Mamas and Papas) were not already deceased at that time, I would have thought that the beyond-lovey-dovey twosome I was witnessing that night was John with his incest-partner daughter, Mackenzie!

As I did the other day, I realize I should have just done one of my YouTube videos on this topic, (especially because I was rocking full make-up while I was writing this,) but I’m so disgusted with Huffman and her even ickier husband that I might have cursed on air. And none of you want to hear that.

I realize that I should have just done one of my YouTube videos on this topic, (especially because I was rocking full make-up while I was writing this,) but I’m so disgusted with both this guy and the next liar I’m going to dissect for you in a day or two, (hint: it’s Felicity Huffman,) that I might have cursed like a truck driver in it!

So here’s the lowdown on this creep. I promise, even if you’ve never seen even one second of any show in the Bachelor franchise, the tale of this man is riveting, so please read on.

The Golden Bachelor and the woman he chose.

As skin-crawling as the regular versions of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are, this rendition featuring senior citizens was downright uncomfortable to watch. Yes, people over seventy do make-out and have sex, but we don’t have to witness it. Over and over and over again. On giant screens in our living rooms, (in our bedrooms would be even worse!,) up-close and personal.

So that entire scenario was bad enough, but all season, I kept declaring that the man they chose to be the Golden Bachelor, Gerry Turner, was perfect for the assignment, (despite the fact that he never explained why his name is spelled “Gerry,” but is pronounced “Gary.”  It’s really supposed to be pronounced “Gair-y,” which is Irish. It would have been nice if the show had explained it even once.) Even though he’s basically a nerd, he’s attractive and non-intimidating enough, while being far from sexy. He seemed willing to make-out with all those strange, wrinkly women, while not appearing to be a horn dog. And he’s more than willing to cry his guts out at the drop of a hat, which the producers long for.

We’ll discuss the cast of poor unfortunate desperate old women somewhere down the line. Or never. Because this diatribe is just about the many lies of Gerry—Gary—Gairy.

He’s been declaring all season that he had never had a first date since the one with his late wife, way back in high school! (He’s seventy-two now, for those of you who haven’t been paying attention.) And our collective hearts bled for him. Until last Wednesday, the day before the live finale of the show.

That’s the day that the very reputable Hollywood Reporter did an in-depth expose on Gerry’s lies, which featured the story of the woman who…lived with him for almost two years after his wife died!!! (I can’t give you every detail as well as they did, so here’s the link to that complete article: www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/golden-bachelor-gerry-turner-ex-girlfriend-speaks-out-1235683869.)

In case you don’t have time to read all the tale’s juiciness right now, here are the highlights: Gerry asked the woman out two months after his wife of forty-three years died! (Some people have even been suggesting that the wife’s sudden death from a mysterious infection is suspicious.) And then he stayed with the new, much younger woman for just about three years!!! That’s one major big fat lie, don’t ya think?

And the situation gets worse. His wife was pretty plump, as are his two daughters and pair of granddaughters, but he refused to let his live-in girlfriend accompany him to his high school reunion because…she had gained ten pounds!!! And he charged her for what I assume are household expenses, (which I assume everyone would be happy to chip in what they can, anyway, unless they were living with the uber-generous Mr. X, who has never let me pay for anything since Day 1, when he was a poor struggling actor!) And when the couple ate at a restaurant, she had to slip him the money beforehand so he could pay the bill and look like he was treating.

Gerry Turner and his family.

But, in my opinion, his biggest lies were the ones he told to poor Leslie, the “runner-up” to Theresa, the woman who “won” the engagement with Gerry. For several weeks of the series, (which most likely all took place in just a week or two,) we witnessed him telling Leslie that she was “his girl” and “the one.” Repeatedly. And giving her significant glances and winks with those declarations. And laying the mack on her whenever he could, including against the wall of a building like a teen-age guy who lives with his parents.

The morning after Gerry and Leslie spent the one private night together in the stupid “Fantasy Suite,” he seemed to assure her that she was the only one for him. And she told the finale audience that he had said even more intimate things to her that night, that she was too classy to share with the viewers.

Gerry even declared on camera that after that night with Leslie, he didn’t want to go to a Fantasy Suite with Theresa the very next night because he had made up his mind that Leslie was his girl. But, since that’s how the show works, he had to do it. Unless he was lying to all of us about that situation, as well, which is a definite possibility, now that we’re all onto him.

Gerry Turner laying the mack on his runner-up, Leslie.

So at dinner with Theresa the next night, before their “private time,” he finally asked her what she did for a living. And when she said that she was still working, at seventy years of age, as a very successful money manager, his attitude totally changed. After he put his eyes back in his head, they spent the night together; the next morning, they were intimating to each other, (and to the audience, who was now back in on it again,) that something secret had happened between them.

And then he chose to propose to Theresa instead of Leslie. Until I learned of his cheapness towards that former love partner, choosing little nerdy weasley-looking Theresa over sexpot, six-years-younger Leslie made zero sense. To anybody. (Mr. X is still scratching his head over it, even though he now knows of Gerry’s love of money, which money manager Theresa has.)

After the finale, I read that Theresa said that she and Gerry have the same financial philosophy, which is to be frugal. On live TV, she also declared that she had “knocked his boots off” in the suite! To that statement, and in honor of the contestants’ median age, I reach way back and say, “Gag me with a spoon!”

She also has spilled that Gerry told her that very night that he was going to propose to her! You’re not supposed to tell the audience that, (and no contestants ever have before!,) so therefore, that bit of privacy-sharing public declaration seemed designed to hurt Leslie’s feelings. So perhaps Theresa is fake, as well, because she made like she was so sweet the entire series.

And now Gerry and Theresa are not only going to Italy on a honeymoon financed by The Bachelor producers, but they’re getting married in less than a month, on TV!!! So that way, they won’t have to spend a dime on the reception themselves, and will probably even pocket a pretty penny for the television rights!

There’s another smaller fib about him, (most likely perpetuated by the show rather than by Gerry himself,) is that they listed him as a retired restaurant owner. But it was actually a small shake shop, not a restaurant, per se, and that was almost forty years ago!!! He’s been a hot tub repairman for most of his life. There’s nothing wrong with that honest work, (well, often not that honest,) so that’s just one more unnecessary lie on his side of the board.

Knowing he was caught in his lie about the ex-girlfriend, and without the show to try to spin it for him, (if that could have even been done, they would have addressed the situation on the finale,) he realized he has to face the music to the press and public. So in interviews, he’s been trying to laugh off his serious post-wife relationship as something didn’t count! What a supreme creep! (You have got to find and watch Katie Couric’s interview with him! You go, girl!)

Katie Couric, grilling Gerry Turner about his many lies, with his new fiancee, Theresa, by his side, looking like she’s wondering just what she’s gotten herself into.

Gerry Turner, (if that is, indeed, even his real name!,) had been one of the few people associated with the Bachelor franchise for whom I had even a modicum of respect, and now I view him as the lowest of the low.

So the lone honest person from the entirety of “Bachelor Nation” is Clare Crawley, the Bachelorette from a few seasons ago. She knew that she loved Dale Moss right away, so just a few days into shooting her season, she told the producers she was quitting because she couldn’t fake-date people when she knew with whom she was in love. Even though she and Dale eventually broke up, twice, at least she was honest about it and didn’t string potential suitors, and the audience, along.

So there you have it—why the lying Golden Bachelor is making me see red this week! Next up in my new “Liars” series will be the creepiest of them all, unapologetic felon Felicity Huffman, with my secret info about her nauseating husband. Keep an eye out for it.

Mr. X and I rarely agree on anything, so when we do, I know we’re on the side of right.

And we totally agree that there was soooo much wrong with that televised interview with Prince Harry and his wife on Sunday night. So much. [Full disclosure: I didn’t watch the extra bits that aired the following morning; I had had enough of Hapless Harry and Yoko Meghan by then. Even writing this article has been too much of my time wasted on those creeps.]

Harry and Meghan. Photo by Karen Salkin, off the TV screen, as is the big one at the top of this page.

I’ll get to it all, but first let me preface this whole thing by saying I used to adore Prince Harry. I stuck up for him in just about every scrape he got himself into, (outside of when he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party when he was twenty, the bad judgement of which is hard to overlook.) I supported his kind works that he did as follow-ups to what his wonderful mother began. I felt for him to occasionally be referred to as “the spare.” (As in “the heir and the spare.”) That could not have been easy for him. And I really hoped that he would marry a lovely girl who would be as adored as his sister-in-law Kate is, (who is the perfect future Queen, by the way,) and that she would join in all the fun that the trio, (Harry, Kate, and William,) always looked to be having.

But alas, it was not to be. The sweet blondes he had courted, Cressida Bonas and Chelsy Davy, have both expressed that they knew they didn’t want the kind of life that being a royal entails. Or perhaps were not in love with Harry. Either way, it’s a shame.

So, I feel Harry was very vulnerable when conniving, malevolent, master manipulator Meghan Markle got her hooks into him. (By design, it’s purported. She went to England for the sole purpose of trying to “get” Harry.)

The Queen being lovely to Meghan, as always. Photo by Karen Salkin, off the TV screen.

I recently spoke with a friend who knew nothing of the Markle woman save for her one series acting stint on a cable show some years back. So if you are also in the dark, please trust me when I tell you that I’ve watched all of her machinations since she first set-out to snare herself the most eligible bachelor on the planet. (And I actually do give her credit for achieving her goal.)

I’ve followed the entire Royal Family since waaaay back, ever since Princess Diana came into the realm. The Queen has never been anything other than classy. She’s led a life of service ever since she was old enough to participate. I can’t even begin to imagine what her day-to-day thoughts must be. And now, with the love of her life, ninety-nine-year-old Prince Philip, being in the hospital for several weeks, (including a trip to a different hospital for heart surgery!,) and not being able to even visit him due to the covid risks, I have no idea how she’s been able to carry on her duties, including the Commonwealth Day address to her country earlier on the day of this Sussex interview.

The Queen’s classy statement about the interview.

One would think that the self-serving Sussexes would have postponed the airing of the interview show at this critical time in the life of Harry’s family, but that thought never even crossed their minds! Anyone who sticks up for them after this incredible cruelty has no heart or soul, in my opinion.

There was absolutely no reason for them to give this interview ever. It’s all for their own publicity. The timing of it was designed to get people on their side right now, so all their upcoming mega-millions entertainment projects won’t be failures. I hope that the entire world can see that diabolical plan of theirs. (But, since neither one of them showed themselves to be the least bit amusing or entertaining, that goal of theirs may not come to fruition. Knock on wood.)

Before I get to the particulars, I have to say that I’m bitterly disappointed in both Hillary Clinton and the White House for seeming to believe the vitriol that was coming out of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry. I, on the other hand, agree with the assessments of a plethora of Royal commentators who have deemed the interview to be “vengeful,” “self-absorbed,” “attention-seeking,” and “deeply destructive.”

So now here are a few of Mr. X and my thoughts as the interview went along:

Meghan Markle and her “authentic” hair extensions! Photo by Karen Salkin, off the TV screen.

Markle said the family was “depriving” her of things. But they’re not depriving her of anything; she’s the one who’s depriving her own husband and son of their family!

I hate that she keeps holding her stomach. We get it—you’re pregnant!

Does she think we’re supposed to feel bad for her because she had to curtsy to the Queen? We should all have that privilege.

I love that she says she wants to live “authentically,” while wearing hair extensions!

She made such a fuss over Kate supposedly making her cry once, before her wedding, though it was reported that she had made Kate cry. Who cares?! Someone has made each of us cry at some point! No matter the truth of the situation, it was the press who either got it right or wrong, not Kate! Kate never said anything because—here’s a news flash to Meghan, obviously–the Royal Family doesn’t comment to the press about gossip! Ever. Markle even admitted that when she joined “The Firm,” she was told to say “no comment” all the time. Has she forgotten that she just admitted that???

Kate, being kind, as usual, to Meghan at Wimbledon not even two years ago.

Even though I can’t stand her, I do think she is cute-looking and somewhat well-spoken. Except for saying, “Me and my husband.” (If you need to freshen-up on just how wrong that is, you can find-out here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/national-daykarens-lesson-happy-national-grammar-day.)

Oprah also misspoke a few times in that interview. A couple of her speaking errors are saying “sister-in-lawS” instead of the correct “sisterS-in-law,” and “WimbleTon” instead of “WimbleDon.” I hate when people do the latter!

If Meghan was so lonely when she lived in England with Harry, why didn’t she do some charity work?

Okay, here’s one of the big ones–Archie’s not having a title has absolutely nothing to do with race! Prince Eugenie’s son does not, either. This is why: Harry’s great-great-grandfather, King George V, issued a “letters patent” in 1917 that states, “only the grandchildren of the sons of any such Sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of Dukes of these Our Realms.” Queen Elizabeth issued an exception for William’s other two children, (beside George,) in 2012, four years before Harry even met the Markle woman!!! So, absolutely no slight, or racism, is involved with this!

And about saying that “someone” mentioned a concern about how dark-skinned their children would be–she relayed a second-hand convo, with no real dialogue to back it up. Even Harry beat about the bush.

Does this look at all like the Queen and Prince Philip give even one whit about Archie’s ethnicity??? Photo by Karen Salkin, off the TV screen.

With all the things that Megan finagled over the years, she wants us to believe that the family would not let her go to a mental-health doctor? Give me a break.  She could have just said she had to go back to Los Angeles for her mom for a little bit, and see a doctor here!

She said that she’s not going to live her life “in fear,” but how about she just live her life in private? I’m sure that’s something that has never occurred to that fame-hungry woman.

She kept insisting that she’s lost so much. But she’s lost nothing. Only Harry has! He’s lost his entire family, way of life, patronages, and friends. If he thought he was “trapped” before, wait until he wakes up and realizes that now he’s practically her hostage!

The Senior Royals, all of whom I respect: (L-R) Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Camilla, Prince William, and Kate.

Markle even claimed she lost her father over this, but…she dumped him! And I have serious doubts about her miscarriage story. If she was willing to lie about so many other issues—it’s been proven that the couple did not get married three days before their Royal Wedding, as they claimed to Oprah; she claimed she had not seen her sister in two decades, but there’s photographic proof of them together just seven years ago; and she said that she knew nothing of Harry or his fam before they met, but she also said that she knew Princess Eugenie before she met Harry, with one of her best friends even admitting in 2018 that Markle definitely googled Harry before she set out to meet him!–every word she has uttered is in question. She sooooo reminds me of Gene Tierney’s evil character in Leave Her To Heaven. Harry better watch his back!

Meghan Markle, looking like she’s comtemplating her next destructive move. Photo by Karen Salkin, off the TV screen.

If she can lie so easily about all of those issues, why should anyone think she’s telling the truth about anything?!

Liars are the most dangerous people. Just spewing their untruths, with no proof to their claims, can seriously harm others. And I suspect that’s exactly what’s happening here—there’s no proof to just about every accusation of the Sussexes. (Sadly, I personally know someone like that, whom we’ve deemed to be “poison,” but her lies go out to just a small group of people, not the entire world!)

One I find particularly hard to swallow is that the Palace took her passport, drivers license, and keys. First of all, keys to what? But more importantly, so many members of the Royal family drive, (even old Philip until recently,) so they all need their licenses with them. I doubt that they have to ask someone for it back every time they go someplace. Or perhaps someone, like each person’s private secretary, holds the passports for safekeeping. But Markle made it sound like she was a prisoner.

Another possible falsehood is Harry’s claim that his father cut him off financially after Megxit. But I distinctly remember being upset that Charles decided to still support his grown-up thirty-four-year-old son at that time! (And several of his friends declare that he did.)

Harry and Meghan trying to get her a voiceover job from Bob Iger, (in the middle, with his wife, Willow Bay.)

Harry said that they just wanted to move to any Commonwealth country, like Africa or New Zealand, for a fresh start, to which Meghan kept nodding. Yeah, I’m sure that social-climber would have moved anywhere other than Los Angeles!!! Do you remember when they cornered Disney honcho Bob Iger in England, practically begging him to give her a voiceover job???

Here are the overall impressions I came away from this interview with:

If they don’t want to be part of the family, then don’t. But stop talking about it!

What was even the purpose for this convo, except to try to get people on her side???

This just proves that anyone who hires them is nuts; if things don’t go their way, they’ll just publicly make-up vitriolic scenarios to suit themselves.

I hadn’t even realized that the Markle woman was about to complain about her life! All I was focused on beforehand was Markle trying desperately to become a celebrity, and even more, the cruelty of the timing, on two levels. First of all, it was rotten of them because of Harry’s grandfather’s aforementioned condition, which means they piled the stress on his old heart along with giving his poor supposedly-beloved-by-them ninety-four-year-old Granny so many more worries at this crucial time in her life. And secondly, the timing for the world, particularly their two countries, is deplorable. With so many lives lost due to covid, and a plethora of citizens with no money, jobs, prospects, places to live, etc., to see the Sussexes sit there and complain that they have to use their own millions of dollars to fund their own lives should have made everyone sick! Mr. X and I cannot be the only ones who feel this way about their selfishness.

Harry’s bad attire. Note the socks and shoes.

Their basic claim was that everyone in the country seemed to hate Meghan, but The Firm wanted her “silenced” because she had gotten too popular! So, which was it? You can’t be popular if everyone hates you!

On a shallow note, does Harry own any other attire? (He wears this same gray suit all the time!) And who dresses him? If he has to wear that gray suit, how about some appropriate socks and shoes??? Ugh.

Meghan Markel wanted money and fame. Dot, dash, end of story. She erroneously assumed that she would get it by marrying into the Royal Family, but when people saw through her, she had to try a different tack, and this evil way was what she chose.

And, as I suggested over a year ago, (right here: itsnotaboutme.tv/news/gossipkarens-rants-i-could-not-dislike-that-markle-woman-more,) the Palace should just put an end to all this nonsense coming from her by doing a paternity test on Harry. I wholeheartedly believe it will show that James Hewitt is his biological father, and not Prince Charles. Then Mercenary Megan will leave him so fast. And she’ll do yet another interview, claiming bad things about Harry!

Prince Harry and James Hewitt.

My last thought on this entire debacle is that there are a few people who are sooo happy for the timing of this publicity stunt, because it’s taken the attention off their own bad press right now, such as hopefully-soon-to-be-indicted Orange Hitler, Spanish-heritage-faker Hilaria Baldwin, in-danger-of-being-recalled Governors Cuomo and Newsom, possible cannibal Armie Hammer, and the Hollywood Foreign Press. Now we need some other attention-getter to take the spotlight off these Sussex ingrates!

[Note: After yesterday’s Trump supporters’ serious insanity, I thought long and hard about publishing this already-written frivolous column today. So if you’re at a point where you can’t yet wrap your mind around anything other than what is becoming of this country right now, just save reading it for another day. But if you’re in great need of some good laughs right about now, I hope these observations do the trick for you.]

In a world of sooo many uber-important topics, (e.g. the horror at the Capitol yesterday, the rise of covid cases, rampant crime being worse than ever, Orange Hitler still declaring he won the election and pardoning so many of his fellow evil-doers,) this one is absolutely not in that category, by any stretch of the imagination. But it’s so entertaining that I felt the need to start off the year, (after my Happy New Year column, of course,) by weighing-in on it.

Hilary Hayward-Thomas, aka Hilaria Baldwin, in her latest lying video.

So, in case you’ve missed this head-scratching saga that is just not going away anytime soon, here’s the gist: Alec Baldwin’s wife, who calls herself “Hilaria,” (which she pronounces “Iladia,”) and has been pretending for years to be from Spain, complete with a Spanish accent, is actually Hilary from Boston! Why would someone so public lie about that? She must be insane, in addition to being what appears to be a pathological liar! I can see maybe high school students doing this as a gag, (and I myself pretended I was engaged to Paul McCartney…when I was something like ten-years-old!,) but why would a grown woman do it, especially if she’s married to a bona fide celebrity??? She must be missing a synapse or something.

I have so many questions about the entire charade. (Please pronounce that as “sha-raahd,” just in keeping with the theme of phony accents.) And the list grows longer every day. If the Baldwins thought this would all just go away with the next news cycle, they have another think coming. New info comes out every day about their craziness!

I really want to know when Alec knew about his partner’s deception. In 2013, on David Letterman’s show, (and more recently, I believe just a couple of weeks ago, on a podcast,) Alec said, “My wife is from Spain,” and he even did her “Spanish accent” when he was quoting her.

Yes, you read that right—“her Spanish accent.” Her fake one, of course. She’s used it in several interviews over the years; I’ve seen many of them now that this has all exploded in her face. (I’ve done some of the research for you, such as this clip: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkaW3acUp7Q, but if you need more laughs than this column is providing, you should look up some more for yourselves; they’re hilaria-ous!)

So, has Hilaria been bamboozling her husband for the entire almost-decade of their relationship? Or is Alec just a non-truth-teller, as well?

Actually, it’s refreshing that for once an American is using a fake Spanish accent, as opposed to the fake English ones affected by Madonna and Oprah Winfrey.

Hilaria and Alec Baldwin walking in Beverly Hills a few years ago, with someone in the middle. (And no–that is NOT me! She and I do have similar good long, straight, dark hair, but I’m not that big, knock on wood!) Photo by INAM staff.

I’ve met Alec twice, (more on those meetings in a bit,) but I never knew anything about this woman, outside of that she’s Alec Baldwin’s second wife and has a bunch of kids with him, none of whom he’s called a “little pig,” (that we know of,) as he did his daughter from first wife, Kim Bassinger. (Here’s the entirety of his abusive phone message to his at-the-time twelve-year-old daughter: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J0-ZatDHug.)

I have no problem with people changing their names—entertainers do it all the time, as have a few regular people I’ve known. That part of Hilary’s deception is not a real issue for me. (But she thinks she’s tricking us by declaring the change is no big deal because her new name is just a few letters off from her real one, which doesn’t really fly because she pronounces them totally differently.)

But she’s lied about her entire life story, all over the place, for at least a decade now! She’s claimed that she grew-up in Mallorca, and didn’t come to the United States until college, when she was nineteen. Did she not know we’d find-out? Did she think she was living in the times before computers and social media? Everything she’s said about her family and upbringing is a lie! This is cultural appropriation to the nth degree!

How is this not considered to be on a par with the supposed “race-fakers,” those two white women (former NCAAP Chapter President Rachel Dolezal and former GWU professor Jessica Krug,) who have become infamous for making believe they’re black? And they weren’t faking being exotic, as Hilaria Baldwin has been—they were passing themselves off as being in a very oppressed minority, which would seem to make their lives harder!

The TV show where Bostonian Hilaria Baldwin (she’s the one on the left, in case you had no idea who she is, either,) asked how you say “cucumber” in English!

And now Mrs. Baldwin is trying to pretend she never said she was from Spain. But there are way too many videos of her doing just that, complete with the accent! In one cooking segment, she even asked how to say “cucumber” in English!!! Live on air! How is she denying all that now? (Here’s the link to those few moments: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu5-OqiNO7k.)

To make sure I was being fair here, I watched a plethora of clips, and even Hilaria’s over-seven-minute-long rambling Instagram video, where she was supposedly clearing-up the whole subject. She kept saying, “I want to be very clear here.” But she wasn’t clear about a thing! Not one little thing.

And then crazy Alec had to get in on the act and make his own rambling video, defending his wife, basically saying the press is lying about her. He literally said, “Consider the source.” He is correct about that—his wife is the source! And a liar! So has he believed her fake origin story for the entire nine years now? He’s sure sticking-up for her.

Even worse to me, in some ways, is her utter and obviously-thought-out deviousness in trying to make her untruths be a tad ambiguous, in case she was ever called-out on them, as she is being now. For example, on a New York podcast, she said, “I moved here when I was nineteen, to go to NYU.” When one of the hosts then asked, “From?,” Hilaria cleverly and deceptively answered, “From? My family lives in Spain, they live in Mallorca,” making it seem like that’s where she’s from, rather than the honest answer, which is Boston. She’s so creepy. (Here’s that exchange, if you want to see it for yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1UyCryRV7o.)

The wedding of Hilaria and Alec Baldwin, into which she put Spanish accents, such as the “pericon” with which she’s fanning her husband.

In recent years, I had a bestie who, like Hilary, is also is a fluent Spanish-speaker from the East Coast. But never once has she claimed to be from anywhere other than New Jersey, even though her ancestry is Cuban. Never once did she make-believe she doesn’t know an English word, such as “cucumber.” And never once did she try to disguise her Jersey accent with a fake Spanish one! Obviously, no one but a sociopath would ever act like that!

Okay, here are my two Alec Baldwin stories. The first time I met him, I was playing his secretary on a movie way back in the day. (At my request, I was cut out. Long story for some other time.) I was shooting my scenes on a super hot day downtown. When I got to the set, everyone was complaining about Alec. They said he was very difficult to work with. While I was talking to the producer, Alec came over and started yelling that if no one else would move the catering truck out of the hot sun, he would do it himself. So even though everyone else hated him for all his complaining, I thought he was really nice for looking-out for the workers. So I had a good initial impression of him.

Later that day, I was sitting in a production vehicle, filling-out some papers, when I saw Alec walking towards the stage. I knew that when he worked I had to get back to work, too, since we were doing our scene together, and that the crew might not know that I wasn’t in my trailer. So, without having met him yet, I called out to him and told him I was playing his secretary, and asked if he knew if they needed us. He very nicely said that he didn’t know, but that he’d come get me if they needed us! I thought that was really great of the star to be so accommodating to the low man on the totem pole in the cast, moi. (Wait—does using that last word mean I’m from France?)

Sweaty Alec Baldwin in the Hamptons. Photo by Karen Salkin.

So over the years, I’d see stories about him, and I wasn’t pleased with his behavior, but I still had the impression from that movie set that he was a nice guy. So about ten summers later, I was in the Hamptons, at a very exclusive cocktail party thrown by Ethel Kennedy and her daughters. It was really intimate, so everyone who was there was considered to be somewhat important, (like the Kennedys and Harry Belafonte.)

All of a sudden, I noticed Alec, (with his very sweaty butt, I must add,) and a friend of mine encouraged me to go say hi. I wanted to tell him how nice I thought he was all those years before, so I bravely reintroduced myself. I said, “I have a nice story to tell you about yourself, although it was on probably your least favorite film you ever made.” He really wanted to know which one it was, so I told him. He immediately became a tad attitudinal to me, and he just kind-of walked away without even so much as saying so long. He made it all super-uncomfortable for me. And I was complimenting him; there was no reason for him to be so nasty. He put a damper on that whole evening for me.

Hilaria and her dance partner, back in the day. I guess she was always intense!

Ever since that exchange, I have not been a fan of his. And every time I read about his bad public behavior, I totally understand. He’s kind-of turned into his own impression of Orange Hitler! And his newly-revealed incidents of untruthfulness where his wife is concerned just add to that conclusion.

There is soooo much more to say on this topic, including that Hilaria’s former ballroom dance partner has said that she’s always wanted to be Spanish, and many more instances of her fake Spanish accent. It seems that new info comes out on her lies every day, so I have a feeling I’ll be circling back to it soon enough. But it’s time for my afternoon siesta, so this will have to suffice for now.